GRIEVING Hampshire parents have told of their disgust after their prisoner son was left in shackles on his death bed.

Now a Hampshire coroner has warned Winchester Prison staff about their poor communication after the parents were only told of their son’s illness as he lay dying.

Head of healthcare at the jail, Gillian Hunter, said since  the death protocol for keeping prisoners shackled while in hospital was under national review.

The jail came under fire at an inquest into the death of 22-year-old Thomas Dance who died as a result of complications from a bacterial disease.

Grahame Short, senior coroner for south and central Hampshire, said: “I don’t believe that it was fair to the family to have to wait some six hours before they were notified by prison staff that their son was critically ill in hospital.

“I would ask that the staff at Winchester do take steps to review their policy and I will be taking note if there’s any repetition of the events that we have heard happened in this case. To lose a son in these circumstances must have been devastating and they have my deepest sympathy.”

Mr Dance was chained to the bed and guarded by two prison officers as he lay in a coma, the inquest heard.

In a statement, his father James Dance, from Portsmouth, said his son developed a drug problem as a teenager. Describing his disgust at how his son was treated he said: “He was really poorly. What could Tom do lying seriously ill? I wanted him to be treated humanely and respect given to us as a family.”

Mr Dance’s mother, Tina Dance, of Durley, added: “He was unconscious and chained to the bed. I just found the whole situation really unnecessary because he could barely breathe let alone move.”

The inquest heard Mr Dance was pronounced dead at Royal Hampshire County Hospital on November 25, four days after being admitted.

Home Office forensic pathologist, Dr Russell Delaney, said Mr Dance suffered multi organ failure after contracting endocarditis – a type of infection of the heart.

Recording a verdict of natural death, Mr Short identified “gaps” in Mr Dance’s care relating to information being missed from his medical notes, but said he felt it would not have made a difference to the outcome.